Welcome to Sportstar's live blog of the UEFA Champions League 2021-22 clash between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain being played at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain.
This was Neeladri Bhattacharjee bringing you the pre-match buildup minute-by-minute updates of this high-voltage clash. That was all for the night. Thank you for tuning in tonight and take very good care of yourselves.
One of the quarterfinal fixtures is set as Manchester City will face Real Madrid after today's matches.
Manchester City progressed with a 5-0 margin of victory on aggregate, while Real Madrid made an unreal comeback against PSG at Santiago Bernabeu.
Match Report:
Full-Time
Real Madrid 3-1 Paris Saint-Germain
Three second half goals by Karim Benzema assured a quarterfinal spot for Los Blancos as PSG was eliminated at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.
90+1' A free kick for PSG! Messi and Neymar step up for the free kick. Messi takes it and the ball hits the outside of the goal net to go out for a goal kick
90' Shot! The ball after an initial clearance, falls for Modric who goes for goal from distance, as the ball flies wide off target
88' Mbappe makes a run on the opposite end and goes to the ground after a bery soft touch by Vazquez. The referee gives a free kick, which after a Madrid clearance sees Vinicius run into the PSG box
87' Foul! Vinicius makes a run into the box as Benzema waits with the ball, passes it to the Brazilian, who fouls Kimpembe in the box to end that attack
81' Angel Di Maria has come on to replace Danilo as Pochettino looks to shift gears in the last 10 minutes of regulation time
78' GOAAAAAALLLLL!!!!!! Benzema scores a hhatrick to put Madrid in front
Real Madrid 3-1 PSG
76' Modric gets the ball form Vinicius, passes to Benzema, and this time the Frenchman comes to Madrid's rescue yet again to make it all level
Real Madrid 2-1 PSG
74' It is LM vs LM! Messi tries to make a run towards the Madrid box, but is thwarted by Modric as an old battle gets back to life, with Messi in a different jersey this time
73' Miss! Benzema makes a solo run, crosses to his right and the ball ricochets to Vinicius, who misses to keep the ball on target
71' Substitutuion for PSG! In: Idrissa Gueye, Out: Leandro Paredes
71' Whistles reverberate in the Bernabeu everything PSG has the ball. The Madrid fans know a comeback is possible. The goal margin -- just one now
68' Benzema looks to be limping after Paredes stepped on his foot at the edge of the box. The referee, standing right in front, does not give a foul for some reason!
66' Save! Madrid tries to attack through a set-piece and, but a foul on Militao stops the attack after Donnarumma made a crucial save
61' GOAAAAAAAAAALLLL!!!!! Donnarumma makes a mistake and Vinicius and Benzema pair up to equalise for Madrid
RMA 1-1 PSG
56' Mbappe makes a sprint into the box, yet again, but goes down as Courtois clears the ball after a last minute tackle by Alaba
54' Mbappe barges into the Mdrid box, beats Courtois and finishes the ball inside the net.. However, the goal is overturned as the referee had his flag raised
52' Madrid's corner kick, taken by Kroos, is hit by Valverde from outside the box in a Zidane-esque style, but PSG blocks it well enough for a Madrid throw in
51' Neymar tries to barge into Madrid's bos, but he eventually loses the ball, which is then cleared by Courtois
49' Vinicius dribbles around the opposition box, and passes it to Asensio, who had made a run behind Kimpembe into the box, but fails to get a proper touch on it and fouls Kimpembe in the process to put that attack to bed
47' PSG dragging Madrid in front with back passes as Mbappe waits to hare down the wing.
Second Half Begins!
Half-Time
Real Madrid 0-1 Paris St. Germain
45' Messi is fed a pass by Mbappe, but Madrid keeps the Argentine marked to end that attack
43' Yellow Card! Nacho gets into the book after a rather rash challenge on Hakimi as the Moroccan tried to make a forward run
39' Mbappe makes a run along the left wing and shoots to put PSG in front
Real Madrid 0-1 PSG
37' Kroos delivers a beautiful long aerial cross for Benzema, who slightly mistimes it as the ball flies off target
35' Action on the other end! Benzema heads the ball on target as Donnarumma makes an easy save and says the same in Italian -- "easy "
34' Off Side! Nuno Mendes makes a run along the left flank, cuts in right and passes to Neymar, who shoots into the net only to see the flag up
No Goal!
31' Chance! Messi dribbles into the Madrid box, beats the Madrid defence, pairs up with Neymar and crosses at the edge of the goal, but no one is there to tap the ball in.
First real chance where Messi has looked dangerous tonight!
30' Foul! After PSG goes on the attack, as clearance by Madrid is chased by Vinicius, who is brought down by Danilo and the referee gives a free kick for Real, which is taken quickly
27' A mistake by Marquinhos and Madrid was behind him poaching the ball until a last minute clearance by Nuno ended that attack for Ancelotti's side
25' Shot! Benzema tries a magnificent from distance shortly after Modric goes down off what looked like a foul from behind. However, the shot is just wide!
The referee is not interested (in a foul) as play goes on in spite of the Croat's appeals.
22' Shot! Neymar gets the ball off a triangular pass by Verratti and goes for goal which is saved by Courtois
20' Lovely aerial cross by Vinicius for Asensio, but Nuno gets the ball off the Spaniard as Asensio is left on the ground, appealing for a foul
19' Kroos to Modric, but his through ball is marked by PSG, as Verratti gets the ball back in attack and Neymar's shot is blocked by the white wall
17' Lovely touch from Benzema, whose back flick keeps the ball in play, but PSG steals the ball again as Nuno Mendes gets down after a heavy contact off Asensio
15' Neymar makes a run, passes to Nuno on his left, whose cross does not pose any threat whatsoever.
13' Save! Mbappe gets the ball in the final third, makes a run, gliding into his right and shoots. Courtois closes his legs and keeps the ball out to make a good save.
12' Dani Carvajal gets the ball after Benzema steals the ball of PSG and goes for goal from distance, but shoots off target
10' Mbapee makes another run along the left, passes to Verratti and a through ball off Benzema for Vinicius is finally handled by Donnarumma
8' Messi steals the ball off Benzema and attacks on the counter, passing it to Neymar, who passes to Mbappe and the Frenchman runs along the left, but his cross is intercepted and stopped by Courtois
7' Asensio gets the ball in front of the box and tries to go for goal from distance, but his shot is blocked by Paredes
6' Foul! Danilo tries to get the ball of Vinicius, who was running down the wing and the referee blows his whistle for a foul, in favour of Madrid
Kroos takes the free kick, which is headed out of danger by the PSG defence
5' Real is pressing very high as PSG tries to drag the Men in White out for a chance to attack on the counter, but Nuno Mendes ends Madrid's chances at the edge of the box, stealing the ball back and making a key clearance
3' Rodrygo and Kroos jumo for the ball and the latter hurts his temmate in the process, who after a brief medical treatment is back on his feet
1' Real tries to make a run into the final third, as Benzema plays the ball along the right and the cross is just lost by Asension in the PSG box
1:30 pm: Kick Off!
1:10 am: What are the coaches saying?
12:45 am: Team Form –
Paris Saint-Germain come into the match, with three wins from the last five matches, with upsets by Nantes and Nice in Ligue 1.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, has lost just one game in its last five matches – the one against PSG in the Champions League. It has not lost a single league fixture at home this season so far.
12:11 am: Confirmed starting lineups are out!
Real Madrid Starting XI: Thibaut Courtois — Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Nacho — Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde — Marco Asensio, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
Paris St. Germain Starting XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma — Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Presnel Kimpembe, Nuno Mendes — Paredes, Marco Verratti, Danilo — Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar
12:00 am: Head-To-Head – This is the 17th meeting between the two teams, including friendlies, with the head-to-head record standing at six wins, three draws and seven defeats for PSG. Real Madrid will join Barcelona tonight on 17 matches as Les Parisiens' most regular opponent.
11:45 pm: Here is how we think the two sides will line up tonight!
Real Madrid (4-3-3, probable): Thibaut Courtois — Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Marcelo — Luka Modric, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga — Eden Hazard, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
Paris St. Germain (4-3-3, probable): Gianluigi Donnarumma — Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Presnel Kimpembe, Nuno Mendes — Georginio Wijnaldum, Marco Verratti, Idrissa Gueye — Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar
MATCH PREVIEW
Real Madrid was hurt by its worst performance of the season in its 1-0 loss to Paris St Germain in its Champions League last 16 first leg and will try to play smart in the return leg on Wednesday, coach Carlo Ancelotti said.
The La Liga leader was sunk by a stoppage time goal from Kylian Mbappe in its meeting last month but is no stranger to pulling out extraordinary performances in the Champions League, having won the competition a record 13 times.
"We are a very proud team and that performance hurt us pretty bad," Ancelotti told a news conference on Tuesday.
"We are a proud team, mainly in a competition like the Champions League. So we will play for pride. We saw the best version of PSG in Paris. I wish to see the best version of Real Madrid on Wednesday."
ALSO READ |
Ancelotti's side will be buoyed by its 4-1 win over La Liga contender Real Sociedad on Saturday, having initially been pegged back by an early goal.
"Our team is calm and motivated. The mental aspect is crucial in a moment like this. If we play with Saturday's intensity, we have a good chance to qualify," the Italian said.
"We have to be smart and play smart. We need to go out there and win. We don't need to score many goals. We need to keep it together and the support of our fans will be major for us."
PSG forward Mbappe, who has been linked with a move to Real Madrid next summer as a free agent, is a doubt for the match after he was hurt in training on Monday. But Ancelotti said his potential absence would not affect Real's preparation.
"We will prepare for the game as if Mbappe would play. That's the only way we can do it," Ancelotti said.
"It would not surprise me if Mbappe gets a great reception by our fans. They always received great players with respect. But our fans want us to win. That's what they care about the most."
( via Reuters )
Where can you watch the match?
Comments
SHARE